Page 71 of Rites of Passage

Mae’s pulse spiked,fury turning to alarm. “Watch out!”

Dark electricity forked out from the inky globes Barquiel had brought forth. They crackled and spat, pure malevolence in motion as they raced toward Derrick and the others.

“Shield!”

The word tore from the lips of every Council witch and sorcerer in the room. Defensive walls covered in runes flashed into life before them. The lightning smashed into the magic barriers.

They held.

Rose raised an eyebrow. “That’s pretty good. I’m glad to see the power of the Councils has not been eroded by time.” She smirked. “Let’s see if you can cope withthis.”

A dark portal ripped open next to her. She reached inside the crimson-tinged opening and extracted Barquiel’s demon sword from within it.

“What is that thing?!” Gerard exclaimed, ashen faced.

Light faded outside the hotel as Rose raised the obsidian blade above her head. A rumble of thunder reached Mae’s ears.

Shit!

Brimstone swelled in size beside her when he grasped her intentions. Hellreaver snarled, a red aura enveloping his blades. Fire flooded Mae’s blood as she drew on the sources of magic within her and their demonic energy.

Ozone tickled her nostrils. They had but seconds left before Barquiel brought black lightning down upon the building.

Mae raised one hand to the sky and called forth the only spell that could save them. “Eclipse!”

Thunder boomed, the sound so loud it smashed the light bulbs in the room.

The hairs rose on Mae’s arms, static sparking the air ahead of the deadly bolt of electricity arrowing down from the Heavens. She gritted her teeth when she felt it strikeEclipsewhere it shielded the rooftop.

The hotel trembled. Plaster dust fell from the ceiling.

The quake passed as the spell swallowed the demonic bolt whole.

Rose’s eyes flashed crimson. “You bitch!”

Mae bared her teeth. “It takes one to know one!”

Horns sprouted on Rose’s forehead. Her skin darkened. Black wings snapped open on her back. Alarmed shouts tore across the chamber as she let loose the demon within, her eight-foot frame towering above all of them bar Brimstone.

Barquiel moved, his figure blurring.

His sword clashed with Hellreaver and Brimstone’s claws in a shower of sparks. The impact rattled Mae’s bones and drove her back a step where she grasped the dagger, her shoes leaving dark marks on the floor.

Barquiel scored her arm with his talons. Mae bit her lip at the sharp sting.

Brimstone snarled and sank his teeth in the demon’s shoulder.

Barquiel’s eyes flared at the sight of two figures darting toward him at blistering speed. Roars left Vlad and Nikolai’s throats as they leapt into the air and attacked, fury distorting their features. Barquiel froze when their magic sizzled across his skin. Shock widened his pupils as the diamond blades and the spear scored his flanks.

The demon snarled. Dark scales sprouted from his flesh and drove out the incubus and the sorcerer’s weapons as well as Brimstone’s fangs. He staggered back a step, his scowling gaze dropping to the obsidian blood trickling from the wounds the two men had inflicted.

“How?!” He glared at Mae. “Is this your magic, witch?! These two weaklings should never have been able to touch me!”

Even Nikolai and Vlad looked stunned as they retreated to Mae’s side, Tarang growling and Alastair squawking along menacingly.

“That’s because my witch’s soul has acknowledged these two as her potential mates,” Brimstone proclaimed, his nine tails agitating the currents of corruption swarming the chamber. “Their magic grows stronger because of her bond with them.”

Mae flushed as she met Vlad and Nikolai’s stares. “What? It’s not like I can control this stuff, okay?!”

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